A Divorce He Regrets

Chapter 2:

ALEXANDER

Five years later.

Exhaustion was eating me alive, gnawing at me day after day.noveldrama

I’d endured it for five years—five goddamn years of this misery—and it wasn’t letting up. No matter what I did, or how much I tried to drown myself in work or distractions, it lingered.

The divorce papers were signed and filed away like a bad dream, and that was the last time I’d seen her, but her absence was like an open wound that refused to heal.

Don’t get me wrong—I didn’t miss her. Not like a man missed his woman. Hell, I didn’t even love her anymore. I just wanted—no, needed to know she was out there, suffering. Raising her child alone, without a penny. That would’ve been my only satisfaction in this mess. Instead? I had nothing but fucking silence!

My phone rang, the sound pulling me from my bitter thoughts. Silas. My private investigator. I’d spent a fortune on him over the past three years, trying to track her down, but each time he called, the results were the same.

I picked up the phone, already knowing what he’d say but bracing myself anyway. “Tell me you have something,” I said, skipping the pleasantries.

There was a pause, and his hesitation spoke volumes. Damn it.

“Nothing. I’m sorry. It’s odd—almost like she’s dropped off the face of the earth.”

I bit back my frustration. “Then you won’t mind joining her, would you?”

I knew I was out of line, but I was desperate.

Silas sighed, already accustomed to my outbursts. “I’m sorry, Alex. I’ve checked every lead. She’s gone. No trace of her or the child. It’s like they vanished off—”

“—the face of the earth?” I snapped, slamming my fist on the desk. How infuriating. The sharp pain momentarily distracted me from my rage. “If you mention that nonsense to me one more time, Silas, I swear…”

“I’m telling you, man, I’ve checked every record—her tracks are covered so well. Maybe she had help. Look, I’ll keep digging, but you might want to start considering other options… getting another woman pregnant so—”

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“Don’t…” I warned, my jaw tightening. I closed my eyes—my grip on the phone almost crushing—breathing through the storm in my chest. “I don’t know you to be this incompetent. How hard can it be to find an orphaned woman and a child?”

I seethed. “There’s something—find it! I don’t fucking pay you to tell me what to do. DO your job! I don’t care what it takes. Just find her!” I hung up before he could respond. Anger surged, filling the hollow space where my heart used to be.

How was it possible that in five years, I hadn’t found a trace of her? It felt like she’d wiped herself off the map, and I hated that she’d had the last word like that. Meanwhile, I was left with nothing but a hollow ache in my chest and a son in a hospital bed, slipping away with each passing second.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She should be out there, struggling—God knows she deserved it. And me? I deserved the satisfaction of watching it all, knowing she was paying for destroying our family. Instead, I was stuck in limbo, with my son dying and no sign of the one person who could help him. I hated that such power lay in her hands once again.

Liam needed a sibling—a donor. And only she could provide that. My hands clenched into fists. I didn’t want to father another child just to save one. How would I look at them? Tell them they’d been born just because—fuck!

I headed straight to the hospital, the familiar smell of antiseptic hitting me as soon as I stepped inside. It made me sick. I’d spent so much time here—three years.

As I approached the corridor leading to Liam’s room, I could already hear raised voices. My mother and fiancée, Eliza, were arguing again.

“I am not going to spend my productive days babysitting a comatose child, Vivian! I am not his mother! I’ve said this a hundred times. If you want me to step into that position, you know what to tell your son to do.” Eliza’s shrill voice grated on my nerves. God, I was sick of hearing her talk.

My mother, ever the pillar of righteousness, snapped back. “You knew what you were getting into when you got engaged to Alexander! However you act towards Liam now is testament to how you will act when—”

My jaw hardened as I walked past them, not bothering to mask my irritation but definitely not in the mood to get in the middle of their spat.

“You can’t keep ignoring this, Alex!” Eliza yelled after me, turning away from my mother as she saw me walk past. “We’ve been engaged for three years! Do you really think waiting for Liam to get better is going to change anything?”

I stopped for a moment, then turned to look at her. My jaw was clenched, my eyes piercing into hers. She seemed to get the message, and her posture shifted from challenging to pleading.

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